RE: Is Pippen the savior?

["Odegaard, Greg M." <GMOdegaa@RMC.com>]

I have to ask Josh, with Pippens age and clearly fading skills, is selling
off a big chunk of the team to get him worth it in the long run?  In a sense
is your goal winning a title (not likely to happen with just one player like
Pippi) in the next 2 years, while mortgaging the future.  

I guess we will all see what he is made of in Houston.  If he is so great,
playing with 2 other HOFer's in Houston should almost 100% guarantee another
title in Houston, don't you think. If not, considering his increasingly poor
work habits, he should help bunches with our rag tag group of children.

IF Pippen could get us over the hump, within the few overly productive years
he has left, fine, but Hell we can't even see the hump right now let alone
get over it.  He would be a big price to pay just get deep into the
playoffs, without a title coming from it, and that is the reality IMHO.

Clue us in if you could to the expected outcome of going long on one Pippen,
and maybe you will get a few convertees out of the deal.

Thanks in advance,
Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [mailto:josh_ozersky@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 1999 10:59 AM
To: Jim Meninno; celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Mercer and Battie for Michael Finley


I love Tony, and feel we need him much more than Ron
Mercer, but I would make this trade in a heartbeat. 
Finley is the most underrated talent in the entire
NBA.  Pippin would be a great pickup too, if we could
load in several number one picks/cash.  But I just
hope that short of those guys, Battie stays.  I love
his game and we absolutely need a fast legitimate shot
blocker on the floor.